Yacht engineer career path: from AEC to Chief Engineer

Power and tonnage

Engineering certificates on yachts are cut by propulsion power as well as tonnage, and come from MSN 1904 (M+F), the Small Vessel (SV) route. It runs SV Engineer Officer of the Watch (<9000 kW, <3000 GT), then SV Chief Engineer (<3000 kW, <500 GT), then SV Chief Engineer (<9000 kW, <3000 GT). Several of them also exist in a version limited to yachts.

What every junior engineer needs first

• ENG1 medical certificate, STCW Basic Safety Training and Proficiency in Security Awareness.
• AEC 1 and AEC 2, the Approved Engine Course in two parts. An approved training provider can credit earlier qualifications and experience.

Engine ratings have their own certificates. The Engine Room Watch Rating (ERWR) needs 6 months of seagoing service on vessels of 350 kW or more with at least 75 percent underway and a record book, from the age of 16; an approved programme or assessed prior engineering training cuts it to 2 months. The Able Seafarer Engine needs the ERWR first, then 6 months with an approved diploma or 12 months plus the MCA approved engine course, from 18 (MSN 1863).

The smallest licence: MEOL (SV)

The Marine Engine Operator Licence covers small vessels of 200 kW to 750 kW and ends with an oral exam. It is not an STCW certificate, and the MCA cannot guarantee other countries recognise it. The service behind it also meets the entry requirement for the Experienced Seafarer Route.

SV Engineer Officer of the Watch

There is more than one way in: the Experienced Seafarer Route, the Diploma in Maritime Studies (Small Vessel Engineer), or an alternative route through a degree, an NVQ level 3 apprenticeship, an HND or an HNC in mechanical, aeronautical, marine or electro mechanical engineering. On the alternative route an approved college writes an Action Plan of what you still have to do. Whichever route, nothing counts before you register with an MCA approved SV training provider: neither the record book tasks nor the remaining sea time.

• The MCA Small Vessel Training Record Book, issued once you have registered.
• Two weeks of workshop skills training, plus either two more weeks of workshop or two more weeks at sea on a vessel of 350 kW or more.
• PSCRB, Advanced Fire Fighting, Medical First Aid and HELM (Operational).
• Three modules with exams: Marine Diesel Engineering; Auxiliary Equipment Part I; and Operational Procedures, Basic Hotel Services and Ship Construction.
• The Notice of Eligibility (at least 6 months of the seagoing service must fall in the 5 years before the MCA receives the application) and the oral exam.

The exams and the oral must be passed within 3 years before the certificate is issued. High Voltage training is optional, but without it the certificate is not valid on ships with systems above 1000 V.

SV Chief Engineer

The <3000 kW, <500 GT certificate adds HELM (Management), the Chief Engineer Statutory and Operational Requirements module, Auxiliary Equipment Part II and its own oral. The <9000 kW, <3000 GT certificate also asks for Applied Marine Engineering and General Engineering Science I and II, whose passes never expire; a UK degree, HND or HNC in a relevant engineering subject can exempt you from the science modules. Upgrading from the <500 GT certificate takes 6 months of service, 4 of them seagoing on vessels of 750 kW or more.

Electro technical officers and AV/IT

The ETO certificate (STCW III/6, MSN 1860) is unlimited in area and tonnage. It can be reached through an electrical or electronic qualification and an Action Plan, an MCA approved cadetship, or a 36 month training programme for electro technical ratings. It needs the MCA approved GMDSS Radio Maintenance and Electronic Navigation Equipment Maintenance courses, a record book, a Notice of Eligibility and an oral exam. A Senior ETO (SETO) endorsement follows for those who exceed the STCW standard. AV/IT officers hold no MCA certificate of their own; the yacht defines the role.